The Electric Zoo music festival was canceled on Sunday due to the death of two concert attendees and an alleged sexual assault of an underage female.
"The Electric Zoo organizers have worked with city officials to reduce health risks at this event, but in view of these occurrences, the safest course is to cancel the remaining day of the event," the NYPD and Bloomberg said in a statement.
The New York Daily News reports a 16-year-old girl woke up under a parked van on Friday with "her pants down and her legs scratched and bruised." Authorities confirmed she was treated at New York-Presbyterian Hospital Weill Cornell, and the NYPD's Special Victims Unit is handling the case.
On Saturday, 23-year-old Jeffery Russ, graduate of Syracuse University, died from an alleged overdose of popular party drug MDMA, police said. The drug is reportedly a "powerful form" of Ecstasy nicknamed "molly."
Olivia Rotondo, 20, from the University of New Hampshire died from an alleged MDMA overdose during the music festival. Both Rotondo and Russ were rushed to hospitals where they were pronounced dead.
"Now there will be no grandchildren, no nieces, no nephews, no wedding,", John Russ, Jeffery's father, told the Daily News. "Everything you look forward to in life is gone because of one pill."
According to the Daily News, four other people were treated for alleged drug overdoses at local hospitals and 31 people between the first two nights were arrested on drug-related charges.
"These events are out of control, and they shouldn't be happening on park property," Geoffrey Croft, president of NYC Park Advocates, told the Daily News.
The Electric Zoo music festival is in its fifth year, and reportedly attracted more than 100,000 people last year. Sunday night's concerts included events by popular deejays Armin van Buuren, Sebastian Ingrosso and Laidback Luke.
